For Better Or For Worse
by peacepoetrypotter
Summary: Draco and Hermione's secret relationship is challenged with the sudden announcement of Draco's betrothal to Astoria Greengrass. With everything on the line, is their love strong enough to not only defy traditions dating back thousands of years - but also overcome them?
1. Everybody's Fool

**Chapter One: Everybody's Fool**

_Perfect by nature,_

_icons of self-indulgence,_

_just what we all need:_

_more lies about a world that never was and never will be..._

_Have you no shame?_

_Don't you see me?_

_You know, you've got everybody fooled..._

_**Everybody's Fool - Evanescence**_

"Mother..." Draco groaned.

"Draco, do you really think you're going to spend the rest of your life sulking around the Manor alone? Besides, she's a nice girl, and very pretty, too!"

"I don't care that she's pretty, Mother! That's not a valid reason to marry someone! What's wrong with letting me choose instead of trying to sell me to other pureblood families!"

"Sell is such a harsh word, darling-"

"But it's what you did! Going around behind my back and arranging a marriage for me! Like I'm not capable of thinking for myself at all! I had more independence when I was eleven! No one wants me, anyway!"

"So how do you explain the girls who've sent you letters about how attractive they find you, the ones with the perfume on the envelopes? And don't forget all those girls from school-"

"Because I can tell that someone really cares by how much they want to ruffle my hair? Bullshit, in my ever-so-arrogant opinion, but then again, it would be unfair to expect more from people who think I can't handle something like courtship!"

"Draco, it's not like that-"

"Isn't it? Hell, you didn't want an arranged marriage! Why should you and Father arrange mine if yours wasn't? Blatant hypocrisy, if you ask me, which, by the way, you forgot to!"

"Maybe if you had given us an idea of what you're looking for-"

"As though you were shopping? Hell no! And I'd have thought that you of all people would want to respect girls! Besides, I have a girlfriend!" Draco winced after realising how carried away he'd gotten, remembering that he had avoided telling his parents at nearly all costs. His mother's hands covered her mouth, but a smile could be seen through the cracks in her pale, frail fingers; by the time she dropped her hands back to her waist, her face was contorted to show regret.

"Oh," she murmured after a prolonged silence.

"Draco, darling, if I'd known..." The words got caught in her throat, so she wrapped her arms around him instead, surprised that he raised his hands to her shoulders after a moment, returning the gesture.

"It's...it's already done...we've already begun making arrangements...the ceremony is almost entirely set up...Draco, I'm sorry..."

He nodded reluctantly, glad that she knew better than to expect him to respond verbally. He'd been more withdrawn than ever since the war's end, and no one except Blaise - and unbeknownst to nearly everyone, Hermione - could get a straight answer out of him. Eventually Narcissa let go of him and he ran up to his room, collapsing on his bed, still habitually fighting back his tears. He'd left Hermione's flat barely two hours before, only to be greeted with the announcement that he would never get a chance to return. When he was able to sit himself up correctly again, he searched the drawer of his bedside table for the slip of paper on which he'd written the Grangers' address.

_I won't be needing it now..._ Draco thought with a grimace as he tore the paper into minuscule bits, not bothering to pick them up from his floor. _At least I won't have to try to figure out how to get to Australia..._

He grabbed a small velvet-covered box from the drawer, sliding the gold ring from the slit in the middle, running his cold, pale hands over the scintillating sapphire embedded in the band. He'd planned to replace Hermione's Claddagh ring with this engagement one, but now he'd have to settle for keeping it tucked away somewhere forever, just like their relationship. It would be pointless to try to give it to her now, since she would not ever be able to wear it. She would never go by his surname, and they would never live together.

All their attempted planning was for naught, the hours they'd spent fantasising about the possibility of a future together. He'd known that it was next to impossible no matter what, that the Marriage statutes were the Thicknesse-Era laws least likely to be repealed, as many of the "accepting" families also supported them. While he partially understood why people would not want Death Eaters taking advantage of the right to marry Muggleborns - illegitimate unions would be formed with malintentions, and Draco knew that those could range from humiliation to mass murder - he also knew that the biggest problem people had was that legitimate marriages would change the culture in terms of tolerance, and reduce the supposed prominence of the remaining Pureblood familes. He cursed himself, his parents and his culture as he found himself hoping that Ron was able to woo Hermione, a process which Draco had idiotically interrupted little more than three years before.

Later that evening, as he cinched his tie and straightened the jacket of his trademark black suit, he couldn't remember a moment in which he'd hated himself more than he did then. He knew that he had no choice but to go downstairs and further impress the Greengrasses, because it was his bloody duty, and he was weak and spineless and incapable of standing up for himself enough to refuse to do something that was his duty, especially something tied to the bloodline.

Logically Draco knew that it was less his fault than his father's; Draco had been raised to do no more and no less. The bloodline was nearly everything Lucius Malfoy cared about, and dedication to keeping it pure was embedded in every lesson he'd ever halfheartedly tried to teach his luckless, ill-fated only son. Draco was the last heir of the Malfoy family - as the rest of his father's known family had been killed in a tragic fire back when his father was still courting his mother - and one of the last pureblood carriers of the Black lineage; he knew that his choice of wife would essentially shape much of the Wizarding World in the centuries to come. Both the reputations and the survival of two of the most influential pureblood families rested on whether or not his children were pureblood. His entire life he'd known that he'd be bearing the brunt of those expectations, but it had never been a considerable problem for him before. It was an enormous problem for him now, though, because he had a concrete idea in his head of the woman he wanted, and he'd been able to touch her, hold her, kiss her, share a bed and a desperate dream with her, but that didn't matter anymore, since she was Muggleborn, and his right arm was eternally scarred with Voldemort's insignia.

Exasperating his problem even farther was the fact that marriage contracts were bound by old magic, dating back multiple millenia, especially the magic around marriage agreements. Magic so ancient could rarely be broken; both he and Hermione would likely need to put everything they cared about on the line to get him out of it. It would be one hell of a fight. But there was no chance of that, since she would hate his rotten guts for all they're worth and more after the press conference the following morning, during which he and Astoria would announce their engagement.

_Look at me! Pathetic...absolutely pathetic. Practically porcelain skin, clothing worthy of a king, surprisingly muscular for someone so thin, just like Mother told me...and still a blackened, broken heart, lungs and liver probably rotting from fags and scotch...nothing but handsome in the mirror, and still nothing but ugly on the inside..._


	2. That's What You Get

**Chapter Two: That's What You Get**

_No, sir...well,_

_I don't wanna be the blame, not anymore_

_It's your turn, so take a seat_

_We're settling the final score..._

_And why do we like to hurt so much?_

_I can't decide_

_You have made it harder just to go on_

_And why, all the possibilities, well I was wrong..._

_That's what you get when you let your heart win, whoa!_

_That's what you get when you let your heart win, whoa!_

_I drowned out all my sense with the sound of its beating!_

_And that's what you get when you let your heart win, whoa..._

**_That's What You Get - Paramore_**

Hermione rummaged through her purse, silently lamenting over her lack of caffeine. She eventually found her keys, and slid the one for her office into its lock and bolted into her office, slamming the door shut behind her and leaning on it with a loud sigh. After catching a bit of her breath, she toed the path to her desk, dropping her purse on the hardwood surface and massaging her temples as she cursed her choice to use muggle security measures as well as magical. She noticed the Witch Weekly header out of the corner of her eye, and started to wonder why it would be on her desk. She didn't read that sort of rubbish. After a moment she realised that obviously someone thought there was something in this issue that would interest her.

_Why didn't they give it to me yesterday?_ she thought. _Unless..._

_15 July, 1999...that's today,_ she saw as she sleepily checked the date, then after checking her watch realised that she was two hours late for work. Sliding the folders off to the side of her desktop calendar, she saw that she wouldn't have any official business until mid-afternoon, and decided that she had time to read the headlines before getting started. She was already late, what damage could half an hour of so-called journalism do?

Apparently, it can do a lot, especially when the main headline is an announcement that your boyfriend is engaged - to someone else. She flipped the cover open, hiding the shot of Astoria with her painfully princess-like appearance: white teeth, blonde hair, expensive jewellery and the works. Hermione could barely stomach the first paragraph of the article, which was filled with fluff from Astoria's sister Daphne and their parents. Lucius and Narcissa were more contained, as always, and for the first time in recent memory that pleased Hermione immensely. Hermione devoured the article multiple times, until a loud knock on her door caused her to jump clear of her chair. She angrily snapped the door open.

"Oh, you're actually here," Harry said, letting himself in. "Yes, I'm actually here," she sneered in reply. "Why wouldn't I be?"

"Well, Ginny thought you wouldn't have come...apparently there was something in the Prophet this morning that she thought would upset you. She wouldn't tell me much, though, and I haven't had the time to read it myself."

"Well, I'm here."

"I see that."

They stood for a mildly awkward moment of silence.

"Are you sure you're okay, 'Mione?"

"Yeah," she answered softly, unconsciously twirling a strand of hair with her fingers and fighting back tears. Knowing better than to believe her, Harry reached forward and pulled her into a tight hug.

"Well, whatever it is, you can talk to me. You know that, right?"

"Yes, Harry, I'm quite aware of that."

Slightly reluctantly he loosened his grip on her and then left her office, quietly closing the door after himself. A moment after he left, Hermione fell into her chair, bawling, and neglected to wipe any of the tears away, since they were only going to be replaced seconds later. As she heard her coworkers returning from their lunch break, she decided that she'd do better to go home, where she wouldn't have to worry about her colleagues barging in on her. One nerve-wracking conversation with Kingsley later she'd taken a week of personal leave. She stormed away from the Ministry building, Flooing into her flat and collapsing onto her couch. She continued crying until she thought she couldn't cry any longer, then remained on the sofa, fingers straddling her sweaty forehead as her headache grew.

Around suppertime she heard the door open, and remembered that she hadn't locked it when she got home. Her heart sped up, right hand reaching for her wand, but long curly blonde hair and long dark red hair quickly eased her nerves. Aluminum foil-covered plates that smelled of Mrs. Weasley's cooking were set down on her kitchen counter before Luna and Ginny took their respective seats on either side of Hermione.

"I never once thought I'd be jealous of Astoria Greengrass," she muttered.

"I'd swear on a Crumple-Horned Snorkack she's jealous of you, too," Luna told her matter-of-factly, laying her palm gently on Hermione's right knee.

"Come again?"

"The Daily Prophet had more legitimate interviewees. They used Zabini as their main source, who just so happened to mention that his ferrety friend has a girlfriend," Ginny said.

"It's creating about as much buzz as the engagement itself," Luna added.

"Do they have an idea who it is? Oh my goodness..." Hermione exclaimed, springing up from her seat excitedly.

"Zabini claimed not to know her name, so they have next to no information. He just told them how much better you are than Astoria and left it at that," Ginny cut her off, grabbing her flailing forearms in an attempt to calm her.

"He did?" Hermione hesitated, letting her breathing slow back down.

"Yes," Ginny and Luna simultaneously reassured her.

"So what do I do?" Hermione whimpered, glancing between the two. They exchanged nervous glances as well, then Luna spoke up.

"Come on and eat," she asserted, gesturing the others towards Hermione's kitchen. "We'll figure the rest out later."


	3. Love Lockdown

**Chapter Three: Love Lockdown**

_I'm not lovin' you, the way I wanted to_

_See I had to go, see I had to move_

_No more wastin' time, you can't wait for life_

_We're just wastin' time, where's the finish line_

_So keep your love locked down_

_Your love locked down_

_Keepin' your love locked down_

_Your love locked down_

_Now keep your love locked down_

_Your love locked down_

_Now keep your love locked down_

_You lose_

**_Love Lockdown - Kanye West_**

"You, Draco Malfoy, are an idiotic git!" Blaise chided. "You seriously didn't tell her?"

"What was I supposed to say, Blaise?" Draco shouted. "There is no good way to say something like that!"

"No, but there is a worst way!"

"There is?"

"Yeah - not saying anything at. fucking. all!"

Draco rolled his eyes, from which, Blaise noticed, tears had started to fall.

"You love her, Draco. No, you're in love with her. Madly so. And I'm fairly certain it's mutual. And you couldn't spare her the pain of finding out via news media?"

"If I had gone to tell her, Blaise...I'm not sure I would've been able to make myself come back."

"All the more reason you should've gone, mate!"

Draco sighed, collapsing back onto Blaise's massive bed and scooting to the headboard.

"What are you saying I should do, run away with her or something?"

"Took you long enough!"

"Great idea, but it's not- it's not possible...I mean, this betrothal thing...we aren't just talking laws here. We're talking magic. Old magic. We can't just...override it."

"No, but there's got to be something," Blaise offered, sliding into bed next to Draco. "I mean...you two had talked about getting married, right? She had a ring and everything?"

"Well, she had a Claddagh ring, not the official engagement one...but we had talked about a lot," Draco admitted. Blaise groaned, then stopped himself.

"Wait? The official engagement one? So, there is one? You've bought one?"

"It's in the drawer of my bedside table."

"That- that might work."

Draco grimaced.

"Do you really think so?"

"It's the best we've got, Draco. And if we're going to try to do this..."

"There is another catch, though."

"What?"

"Hermione has to be on board, too," Draco said bitterly. Blaise sighed.

"I'm sure she already is...sort of. I mean, angry as hell and merlin knows how hurt, but she wouldn't be hurt, if she didn't care about you, if she didn't want to be with you. And I'm confident Astoria's on board as well."

"How do you figure that?"

"You and Hermione were not the only ones jaded here," Blaise said defensively, and Draco nodded understandingly. Exhausted, he and Blaise fell asleep after only a few silent moments, only to be woken two hours later by Blaise's doting mother.

"Aww, look at you two..." she cooed from the doorway, startling both of the light sleepers.

"Mother..."

"Pity you two couldn't get married!"

"Sometimes it feels like we are, you know," Blaise groaned, pushing himself up. As he was on the edge of the bed, he accidentally toppled out of bed and onto the floor.

"Sorry, sorry," she said. "Would either of you like tea?"

"I'd like to get some sleep," Draco replied. She pursed her lips, then said goodbye and closed the door to Blaise's bedroom.

"Mothers...can't live without 'em-"

"Can't live with 'em," Draco finished, hitting Blaise on the head with a pillow. "Nah git back in bed so we can actually sleep before my mother starts throwing a fit or something and demands me home."

"All right, all right," Blaise feigned annoyance. "Then take your damn suit off. You'll sweat like a dog, you know that." Draco pretended to sigh deeply as he jerked off the sleeves of his jacket.

"But getting undressed is just so much effort..."

"Ah, hesh up..." Blaise teased whilst stripping down to his boxers himself. He climbed in bed and picked his wand up off the bedside table. He gave it a flick and shut the curtains all the way and then slid under the covers. He and Draco had been best friends for so long that it had been established for years who slept on which side of his bed and which pillows they each got, and things like that. Draco still insisted on stealing the sheets, usually, but that was nearly always because he actually got quite cold. Blaise never really felt cold, so he didn't mind that much.

The two of them were practically brothers, and there was never any harm in acting like it, even when it meant they spent an entire day in his bathroom, arguing about Quidditch and having pretend fights with bubbles. They hadn't done that in a while. Life had gotten too serious within the past couple of years, and they simply hadn't been up for things like bubble fights any more. Not when Draco was a Death Eater with a muggleborn girlfriend and Blaise was expected to live up to his late father's academic successes and take care of his family.

Things had been starting to get better, too - before this whole betrothal situation. It was almost comical, how something people joked about was the possibility of a pair of brothers liking the same girl, and here it was, Draco being in love with one girl and being forced into marrying Blaise's girl. The universe really wasn't on their side sometimes, especially not Draco's. Almost never Draco's. They could only hope that Astoria, Hermione, and the law would be.


End file.
